WHEREAS, New Jersey is home to 1.4 million adults 60 years of age and
older and a primary objective of this Administration is to promote the
independence, dignity and lifestyle choice of these residents as they
age; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey must prepare to meet the individual and societal
needs of our growing older adult population and their families; and

WHEREAS, for too long, government has forced older adults to choose
between going into a nursing home or giving up the government funds which
pay for needed services, thus denying them the right to choose where they
receive these services; and

WHEREAS, caregiving by unpaid family or friends has become an important
issue because so many New Jerseyans are finding themselves or will find
themselves in the role of caregiver for a loved one - with almost 900,000
adults in this capacity today; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health and Senior Services provides resources
and oversight for Medicaid services and special programs, yet it can be
easier for older adults to get financial help from the State if they go
into a nursing home versus getting services through the following home
and community services: the Community Care Program for the Elderly and
Disabled, Medical Day Care, Assisted Living, Adult Family Care, Caregiver
Assistance Program, Home Care Expansion Program, Jersey Assistance for
Community Caregiving; and

WHEREAS, policy changes are now critical to support an expanding elderly
population that desires to stay at home with supports versus going into
a nursing home; and

WHEREAS, the Adult Family Care Program offers senior citizens in New
Jersey who are no longer able to live alone the opportunity to move in
and share the home of a trained and caring caretaker who provides needed
assistance and supervision, often in their same neighborhood;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES E. McGREEVEY, Governor of the State of New
Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

The Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services,
in consultation with the State Treasurer, shall prepare by December
1, 2004, an analysis and recommendations for developing a global long-term
care budgeting process designed to provide the Department of Health
and Senior Services with the authority and flexibility to move beneficiaries
to the appropriate level of care based on their individual needs.

The Department of Health and Senior Services shall develop and launch,
by the end of December 2004, the New Jersey Caring for Caregivers Initiative,
which will bring essential services to family caregivers who make it
possible for seniors to live in their homes. New Jersey Caring for Caregivers
will enhance and prolong the ability of unpaid caregivers to continue
to provide care for an elderly or adult disabled individual.

The Department of Health and Senior Services and the Department of
Human Services shall identify specific gaps and requirements necessary
to streamline the paperwork and fast track the process of obtaining
Medicaid eligibility for home care options for those who qualify. The
plan, to be formulated by the end of December 2004, must address cutting
the "red tape" so that seniors are not automatically directed to nursing
homes because it takes too long to do the paperwork for home care options.

The Department of Health and Senior Services shall create an action
plan by October 2004 that expands the Adult Family Care program in New
Jersey.

The Department of Health and Senior Services shall develop a home
and community health care "bill of rights" to support New Jersey's aging
population by May 31, 2004.

This Order shall take effect immediately.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 23rd day
of March in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand
and Four, and of the Independence of the United
States, the Two Hundred and Twenty-Eighth.